The podium winners at the Longines Global Champions Tour Scott Brash, Christian Ahlmann and Laura Kraut pose for a picture at Al Shaqab Arena in Doha yesterday. Brash, won both the overall Longines Global Champions Tour champion title and the Grand prix of Doha. Ahlmann finished second while Kraut came third. Fahad Saad Al Qahtani (left) Director of Al Shaqab, Walter von Kanel, (right) President of Longines, Jan Tops, (third left) President and Founder of Global Champions Tour are also seen. PICTURES BY: VP KAMMUTTY
DOHA: Birthday boy Scott Brash of Britain yesterday produced a dream performance, winning the Longines Global Champions Tour championship and the Grand Prix of Doha with stunning rides on his Olympic and European team gold medal horse Hello Sanctos.
Scott’s dramatic series victory - propelling him from 8th to 1st place in the overall ranking - was perfectly timed on his 28th birthday and came after one of the most intensely fought championship battles in the Tour’s history.
The €1m bounty were shared among the top 18 riders in the overall championship with Scott winning around €450,000 for both titles.
Hello Sanctos’ delighted owners Lady Harris and Lady Kirkham were at the spectacular Al Shaqab final leg in Doha to witness another crowning moment for the star 11-year-old bay gelding.
It was a tense cliff-hanger in Qatar with top German rider Christian Ahlmann missing out on the championship when he picked up one time penalty putting him in second place for the series despite a superb clear round on the amazing grey Aragon Z.
In the final ranking American rider Laura Kraut on her incredible gelding Cedric was placed third overall despite leading the series for much of the season.
“I didn’t know that it would be a double today,” Scott said when asked if he planned winning the world title and the Qatar trophy.
“He is a horse of a lifetime. He has given me so much. So many people are involved in it,” the Briton said. “It was just a perfect day. There are so many people to thank,” he added.
Earlier, Italy’s Emanuele Gaudiano and his mount Admara 2 won the CSI5* 1.50m speed class by just 0.3s from Ireland’s Denis Lynch and All Inclusive NRW in second, and Portugal’s Luciana Diniz and Fit for Fun in third.
Ahlmann said he was pleased to finish in second spot despite a narrow gap separating the top two riders.
“Now I know this time is ****,” laughed Ahlmann said. “It wasn’t so good. After the second round, I was disappointed as I was slow and didn’t have any chances to win.
“But in the end, I must say the horse jumped very good. I like to say ‘thank you’. I was able to get a good result. He did a very good job. In the end, I am very happy with the horse. That’s the reason I got such a good result. So finishing second is not so bad,” the German added.
Kraft said it was a roller-coaster ride.
“I was definitely nervous,” Kraft said at the news conference.
“It was a sickening feeling going into the afternoon session. I was very disappointed. I just had an lucky ride. That’s show jumping. I am disappointed because I got up this morning that I could do it,” the American said.
“I am pleased that he was jumping well with confidence after recovering from an injury,” she said. “It is no bad,” she said.
“I didn’t look at the results before coming here. Looking at the results wasn’t going to change my efforts,” Kraft explained. “Unfortunately I didn’t perform as well as I could but ... my mother knew how much money I got,” Kraft said with a huge smile.
Earlier, the thrilling climax to the 2013 Longines Global Champions Tour Season saw an intense and tough-fought first round with Ahlmann and Brash homing in on the championship.
The Grand Prix of Doha proved to offer a challenging, heavily-built first round, delivering several blows to a few key Championship contenders.
Edwina Tops-Alexander and Luciana Diniz were the disappointed pair as both leading lady riders went out of the running for the Championship win.
Kraut and Cedric jumped a strong round, but failed to clear the second to last fence, earning a very surprising 4 fault score, preventing the Season Leader from qualifying for the second round.
An impressive clear round from both Brash and Ahlmann meant that both riders could quite easily narrow in on the Championship crown. An impressive clear round came from Brash and Hello Sanctos early on. Working through the tough Longines triple combination, Scott displayed that very-same skill and resolve that earned him an Olympic team gold medal last year.
Ahlmann, who came to Doha without either of his two best horses, Taloubet Z or Codex One, certainly stepped up to the plate with Aragon Z. A horse that has been delivering later this season, but by no means has the experience that Taloubet Z or Codex One earned this season. Nonetheless, the combination looked more than capable of performing well in the second round.
The Peninsula
